Betsy Amant - Her Family Wish

Her eyes widened and she flinched as if he’d dealt a physical blow. Her jaw clenched, and she nodded once, her voice soft. “Then I’m sorry to interfere.” She glanced at the envelope in her hands, and with a flick of her wrist, tossed the entire package on top of his desk.

Guilt rocked Jude’s senses as several different-size photos of the same image slipped free of the envelope. Once again, he was taking his frustration out on the wrong person. Jude held out his hand. “Hannah, wait. I shouldn’t have—”

Without looking back, Hannah slipped out of the room.

Chapter Four

With a temper like that, the man should’ve been a pro wrestler, not an assistant principal.

Hannah fumed the entire time it took her to stalk from Jude’s office to Sophia’s classroom, which wasn’t long considering her strides were peppered with indignation. What happened? How could one picture, hinting of loose hair and a tube of lip gloss, set off a polished professional like Jude? It didn’t make sense. He’d originally seemed fine with the photograph—pleased, even.

Until the switch flipped and it was out with Dr. Jekyll, in with Mr. Hyde.

Hannah didn’t have to be a math teacher to know something didn’t add up. Jude’s vibe toward Abby went beyond mere overprotective. He had a secret.

She knew because she had her own.

She paced outside Sophia’s classroom, not ready to go inside until her blood pressure lowered. The dirt-streaked floor passed in a blur as she walked and turned, walked and turned. Jude had every right to raise his daughter the way he chose to, but this was ridiculous. The photo shoot had been done in complete innocence.

Hannah kept pacing, the bulletin board outside Sophia’s classroom a kaleidoscope of blue and yellow construction paper in her peripheral vision. Maybe she should have stayed out of it, but how could she have turned Mrs. McDuffy down over something so trivial? And why would someone refuse a photo of their kid? A gorgeous photo, at that—not a boast of Hannah’s talent, but of Abby’s natural beauty. Hannah had barely even opened the picture in Photoshop. In fact, the only thing she’d done was enhance the lighting of the background. She hadn’t touched Abby’s direct image.

How could that make a father upset instead of proud?

Even now Jude’s words echoed harshly in her mind. You’re right—you’re not a parent. He didn’t know—couldn’t know—how badly that hurt. The words themselves were an agreement, truthful. The average woman wouldn’t have even flinched.

Yet here Hannah was stuck trying to remove a hundred stinging barbs from her heart.

“Hannah, what are you doing in the hallway?” Sophia poked her head outside her class, bracing one arm on the door frame. Her dozen colored bangles clanged together on her wrist, jerking Hannah from her ponderings.

She turned to face her friend. “Trying to figure out why men do what they do.”

Sophia’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, honey, you better come on in. That one will take you until the end of the semester. Maybe longer.” She tugged Hannah inside. “What happened?”

Hannah nibbled her lower lip as they both leaned against the side of Sophia’s cluttered desk. “I think I made a mistake.” Logic began a slow descent, replacing the initial burst of frustration. “You remember last week Jude said he didn’t want me to take pictures of Abby for my portfolio?”

Sophia crossed her arms, bracelets jingling. “Yeah…” Her voice trailed off into a wary question.

“I did anyway, though it wasn’t my initial idea.” Hannah let out a long breath as she filled Sophia in on the photo shoot from Saturday and her conversation with Jude. “I honestly thought he just didn’t want to accept anything free, so I believed having it on Mrs. McDuffy’s account would skirt the issue. It wasn’t a free session I did as a favor that way, you know? But now I think he has other reasons.”

“Jude’s always been very careful with Abby,” Sophia agreed, moving to the chalkboard to erase her previous class’s bulletin points. “But this seems like overkill, even for him. Maybe he’s upset that she disobeyed his rules. He could have been projecting that anger onto you.”

Hannah coughed as a wave of chalk dust drifted toward her. “If so, it seems to be a new habit of his.”

It wouldn’t continue to be a habit. After today, she couldn’t imagine either of them finding anything agreeable to talk about. Two people who constantly offended the other had no reason to be around each other. Authority figure or not.

Students began filing into the room, and Hannah shot Sophia a look, silently agreeing to finish the conversation later.

As Abby took her seat in the front row, eyes sparkling with anticipation, a twinge of guilt flitted through Hannah’s stomach. She’d inadvertently caused trouble for the young girl. It seemed only fair to warn Abby of what she would face after school.

* * *

“Abby, do you mind staying a minute?” Hannah kept her voice low so the other students wouldn’t hear her request and assume the girl had done something wrong. Sophia had excused herself after dismissing the class, allowing Hannah space to have their pending conversation—and they’d have to hurry, since Jude was surely used to Abby meeting him directly after school.

Abby looked up from packing her backpack and offered an unsure smile. “Sure, Ms. Hart.” She zipped the bag and tucked the straps around her shoulders. “What’s up?”

Hannah sat on top of the desk across from Abby’s. “There’s something you should know.” This wouldn’t be easy. The rock that settled in Hannah’s stomach seemed proof enough of that. She swallowed, wishing she’d minded her own business from the start and not put either of them in this position.

“What is it?” Abby picked at a star sticker she’d put on the top of her otherwise bare hand. No chipped fingernail polish coated her nails, no rings sparkled on her fingers, no bracelets bunched at her wrist like almost every other girl in the class. Abby obviously knew she was different, or she wouldn’t have deliberately broken her dad’s rules to try to fit in.

Hannah could relate to being left out. Maybe she hadn’t felt that way as a teenager, but as a woman, it still wasn’t easy. The stares, the instant flickering of eyes from her own gaze to her cheek. The curiosity lingering in people’s voices, hinting at the question no one dared to ask.

No—never easy.

A wave of compassion washed over Hannah, and she leaned forward, coaxing the younger girl to meet her gaze. At least Abby’s struggles were superficial instead of permanent, as easily removed in the time it took to change clothes or untie a braided plait of hair. But as far Jude was concerned, Abby didn’t necessarily have those choices.

“You know those pictures I took at the park?”

“Yeah?” Abby cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, ma’am.”

Hannah briefly closed her eyes. Such manners on such a sweet girl—why on earth was Jude so particular about her appearance? It didn’t make sense.

Hannah forced a smile. “Some of them really turned out well, and I ended up making a few copies for you.”

Abby nodded, even as her gaze turned questioning, guarded, as if she could see what was coming.

Hannah shifted positions on the desk. Man, she hated being in the middle of this. Abby’s deception should have stayed between her and her dad, and if Hannah hadn’t had gotten involved with that silly picture, she wouldn’t be sending the girl off to the parental guillotine.

She drew a deep breath before continuing. The moment of the truth. “I gave one to your dad before class.”

All the blood drained from Abby’s face and she stumbled backward a step. “You did?” Panic highlighted her delicate features, and she bit down so hard on her lip Hannah halfway expected to see blood. “Was he—was he mad?”